Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank, Telenor drop plans to set up payments bank

The decision, collectively made by the three partners, will be communicated to Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Consequently, the payment bank licence will not be pursued.Kalyan Parbat | ET Bureau | May 21, 2016, 10:23 IST

The decision, collectively made by the three partners, will be communicated to Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Consequently, the payment bank licence will not be pursued.

"Telenor Financial Services and IDFC Bank have rich experience from offering financial services and the intention of the JV was to combine our expertise to launch a robust payment bank service in India. Following the mutual decision to withdraw these plans, the payment bank license will not be pursued", Dilip Shanghvi said on behalf of Dilip Shanghvi Family & Associates (DSA) in an official statement.

Last September, Dilip Shanghvi as lead applicant along with Telenor Financial Services and IDFC Bank was granted in-principle licence by RBI to form a payments bank in India.

Over the past eight months, representatives of these three partners had worked together to establish relevant frameworks and a governance structure for the proposed joint venture (JV).

"From the day we signed the Letter of Intent, we have worked hard together with our partners to form a company which can meet the demand for basic banking services across India. We are thankful to both IDFC Bank and Dilip Shanghvi for their efforts throughout this process", said Ms Tine Wollebekk, SVP and Head of Telenor Financial Services.

"It was a good experience working with Telenor Financial Services and Dilip Shanghvi over the last year. We thank them for their support and look forward to future associations", said Dr Rajiv Lall, Founder MD & CEO IDFC Bank.